Development of the Mentor/Mentee Relationship and the Evolution of the Internship Program.
Ryan Gearheart is currently in his second year at the University of Arkansas as Associate Director of S&C for Football. Prior to Arkansas, Gearheart was at the University of Georgia from 2013-2023 Gearheart and worked with multiple teams including Baseball (2013-2023), Diving 2013-2017), Softball (2013-2019), Cheerleading (2019-2023), Men’s Basketball (2020), and Football (2020). He was promoted to Senior Associate Director in 2022 and was selected to participate in UGA Athletic Association Leadership Academy, sat on the Athletic Association Staff Council, and has been on the Student Athlete Health and Wellness Committee. During his time as UGA he has been a part of multiple successful programs including: • National Champions — Swimming and Diving 2014 • Women’s College Softball World Series Appearances — 2016 & 2018 • Women’s Softball SEC Tournament Champions — 2014 • Baseball Top 8 National Seeds — 2018 & 2019 • Baseball Post Season Appearances- 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 Gearheart has also had the privilege to coach and develop over 30 MLB and NFP draft picks including a few first rounders. As the Director of Athletic Performance for Baseball, he created a Sport Performance Team (Strength and Conditioning, Athletic Training, Nutrition, and Sport Psychology) and works with them to coordinate a holistic approach to training including: • Movement Screenings and Performance Assessments • Strength and Power Development Using Velocity Based Training • Force Plate Data Analysis and Review • Speed Development • Body Composition Analysis • Long Term Athletic Development (LTAD) Programming for Multiple Training Ages (Freshman-Seniors / Professional Baseball) • Nutrition Education and Implementation • Joint ROM and Assessment • Readiness and Fatigue Monitoring • Leadership Training Tactics Gearheart has helped give back to the community by helping coordinate and lead fund raising campaigns for UGA Baseball and Children’s Health Care of Atlanta (CHOA). He used the teams weight room training and social media outlets to create awareness for athletes to raise donations towards Pediatric Brain Cancer Research. Gearheart was also the Internship Coordinator at UGA and has mentored >50 coaches throughout his career including many CSCCa certified full time coaches at the High School, Collegiate, and Professional levels. Gearheart began his career at The Ohio State University with Football in 2009. The team won the Big Ten Championship that year and had multiple first round draft picks. He went on to be the Graduate Assistant at Eastern Michigan University (2010-2011) working primarily with Football and Baseball. After his GA he became an Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at Kent State University where he primarily worked with Football and Baseball. His time at Kent State was filled with multiple championship teams including Football MAC East Champions (2012) and 1st winning season since 1972, Baseball’s 1st and only World Series Appearance (2012), and Baseball MAC Champions (2012, 2013). He holds multiple certifications including: • NSCA- CSCS & RSCC • CSCCa- SCCC • NASE- Level 1 Speed and Power Development • USAW-SPL1 • Precision Nutrition- Certified Nutritionist • FRCms • ArmCare+ He had the privilege of working with multiple units of Navy Seals training throughout his career learning how to build Leadership and Team Cohesion and helped a former athlete prepare for his Seal Team Training after his athletics career ended. A native of Columbia, TN, Gearheart was a multiple sport athlete in high school (football, baseball, track, and field) and tried walking on at MTSU for football in 2004. Ryan and his wife, the former Paige Herring, have two daughters (Peyton and Taylor).
